The Lemonheads: Varshons

The Lemonheads’ latest—produced by Butthole Surfer Gibby Haynes—plays like a Nick Hornby mixtape. With a little luck, this collection of mostly obscure covers could, on a smaller scale, do for Dando what the Rick Rubin-helmed American Recordings did for Johnny Cash.

Varshons between Leonard Cohen and Silver Jew David Berman. Midway through,
Varshons takes a sharp turn into creepy, fuzz-and-laser-anchored
trip-rock and even some dark, fun, danceable electronica, featuring
surprisingly fitting cameos from supermodel Kate Moss, Motörhead’s
Lemmy Kilmister and actress Liv Tyler, who lends her angel-whisper
croon to Cohen’s “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye.” Clocking in at a
short and undeniably sweet 33 minutes, the eclectic Varshons wraps up
with—what else?— a moving acoustic rendition of Christina Aguilera’s
“Beautiful.”